My personal mystery deepens. I pulled the new seal that I installed and it was missing the spring, as predicted.
But, when I pulled out a new spare seal (still sealed in plastic) to install, it was completely missing the spring. Then, examining another new seal also still in the plastic, I found that it had two springs. One on the outside and one on the inside. All seals are BMW brand and from a reputable BMW parts house. (sorry for the poor image quality)
- Why is there two on one and none on the other?
- What is the purpose of the springs?
- Do they just keep the seal in shape during storage?
- Should they be removed before install?